An exploration of multiliteracy and multimodality

The delectable smell of ham and golden brown marshmallows covering sweetened yams aromatically descends upon the house. Out of my window I see my neighbor’s customary green and red lights adorning the shingles of their home. Laughter fills the house and the volume rises in proportion to the relatives entering it. I feel warmness enveloping me like the welcoming embrace of an old friend and from these things I know before even placing one anxious toe out of my bed, today is Christmas. In response to the question, “In what everyday situations might you encounter multimodality?” I attempted to take myself back to a time and place in which I had an “old school” multimodal experience. Although I am sure almost every one of our daily happenings has multimodal elements I was looking for something distinct and I immediately thought of the arrival of Christmas. I am now (with the longing of a hungry college student trying fervently to budget their money) preoccupied with thoughts of a Christmas dinner. Putting the ham aside though, this is my perception of the new concepts I have just been introduced to. Multimodality is when the environment communicates something to an individual by engaging their senses. For example when my environment clued me in that Christmas had arrived through smell, sight and touch or when I watched a presentation in my literary interpretation class in which an orange and various questions were used to effectively portray literary theory. To be multiliterate is to have the ability to understand how the orange is representative of literary theory. In essence it is having the capability to analyze and understand through sensorial information, messages sent to you via your environment. To become a true master of the art of multiliteracy you must be able to speak multimodalguese (not a real word, but the first one that came to mind :). You must be able to use multimodality as a means of communicating and channeling ideas.